Red Bull presents its livery tribute to Honda

Red Bull announced on Wednesday that the Austrian team will race in Turkey with new colors. With the Suzuka Grand Prix canceled due to the health crisis, this new livery will be seen on Red Bull’s cars this weekend. After releasing a teaser video, the cars of Max Verstappen and Sergio Pérez unveil themselves on the eve of this Turkish weekend. The cars sport a predominantly white livery, but the Red Bull brand itself remains prominent. The airbox retains its yellow color and the rear wing its blue, but the drivers’ numbers will be placed on a red circular background in reference to the Japanese flag.

As planned, Pierre Gasly’s and Yuki Tsunoda’s AlphaTauri cars (who will surely want to shine) will bear the word “arigato” (thank you in French) to pay tribute, in their own way, to the Japanese manufacturer.

After a difficult comeback with McLaren from 2015 to 2017 (Honda engines having calamitous reliability), the brand from the land of the rising sun regained its splendor by offering itself a luxury partnership by signing with Toro Rosso (now AlphaTauri) in 2018 and especially alongside Red Bull the following season. Unfortunately, it was in the midst of this renewed success that Honda decided to withdraw from competition (a decision made in October 2020). However, Red Bull will take over the intellectual property of the hybrid V6 power units from the Japanese firm in 2022, forming its own engine division named: Red Bull Powertrains.

To conclude on the livery, this is not the first time that the Austrian team has sported such a color on its cars. In 2008, the Scottish driver David Coulthard had raced his final Grand Prix in Brazil at the wheel of a white Red Bull. Unfortunately, his race ended in a crash at the first corner on the first lap. The team will undoubtedly hope for a better outcome on Sunday for their new white cars.